How Mississippians are celebrating Juneteenth weekend

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Juneteenth is not a state holiday in Mississippi, but communities are commemorating the date with dinners, street festivals and live music.

Most of this weekend’s events aim to spread awareness of the significance of the nation’s newest federal holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates the date when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas.

Reena Evers-Everette calls it a “celebration of substance.” the daughter of civil rights activists Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers-Williams says “Juneteenth is about opening our eyes and our minds, gathering the courage to truly understand what our shared truths are.”